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Natural remedies for childhood maladies

The wisdom of giving children antibiotics for routine childhood illnesses is being questioned by medical authorities, some of whom worry that over-prescribing the drugs helps create drug-resistant strains of disease.

My daughter was two months old when she received her first antibiotic prescription. It was just a precaution and we never gave it to her, though over the next two years she ended up on antibiotics at least every 2-3 months, most of them for “just in case”.

While antibiotics obviously have their place - and have saved millions of lives - they should be kept for combatting serious childhood infections such as pneumonia, blood infections, severe bouts of impetigo etc, Using anitbiotics for 'just in case' scenarios is generally unnecessary, and aside from the cost of unecessary treatment, antibiotics can upset the digestive system and deplete the taker of energy.

In his illuminating book, How to raise a healthy child… in spite of your doctor, Dr Robert S. Mendelsohn offers alternatives to common childhood niggles. The American doctor points out the majority of ear infections clear up in the same amount of time whether you administer antibiotics or not.

Relieving the pain of earache

If there is no pus in the ear, Dr Mendelsohn says all you can do is relieve the child's pain with:

a heating pad

two drops of warm (not hot) oil into the child's ear every two hours

a special ear candle (if your child will lie still)

a regular painkiller such as paracetamol or ibuprofen

If the pain continues for more than two days, see the doctor.

Easing coughs

There are two key phrases to remember to help a cough: warm the feet and rub the chest. Allow your child to soak his feet in hot water or wear snuggly socks while rubbing his chest with something like a drop of eucalyptus oil in a tablespoon of almond oil to ease congestion.

Avoid administering cough suppressants if your child has a productive wet cough, because it's better to have that slime out than in.

Eat a spoonful of honey twice a day.

Make this syrup: chop an onion, add two tablespoons of sugar, place in a jar with a lid and leave for 6 hours.

Keep the bedroom warm and humid.

In severe cases, steam up the bathroom and let your child breathe the steamy air for 20 minutes. Burn a few drops of juniper essential oil (or use in hot water as an inhalant).

NOTE!

Go to the hospital immediately if your child is unusually lethargic, has trouble breathing or develops a bluish tinge to the skin.

Treating fever

Fever is the body's defense against disease. It's usually best to let the fever run its course for the first two days, provided that:

your child is over 9 months old and is not vomiting

is breathing normally

is behaving normally

there's no rash

there are no symptoms of meningitis

the temperature is under 38C, and

your child is not feeling miserable

To make your child more comfortable, make sure:

He drinks plenty of liquids.

You sponge him with tepid water. This may be esier said than done!

You encourage your child to drink cooled echinacea tea, or hyssop and liquorice tea, s these can help break a fever.

Stomach ache

massage the stomach with a few drops of chamomile essential oil or peppermint essential oil. (Peppermint is a stimulant, chamomile is a relaxant, so choose chamomile at night.)

Patience, loving care and tender reassurances go a long way to make your sick child feel better.

IMPORTANT!

This advice is useful for niggles , not for real illnesses. Stomach pain accompanied by a fever could be appendicitis or Rotavirus. A persistent cough with a raised temperature could be pneumonia. Earache could be a result of a foreign body stuck in the ear canal. In short, if your child looks ill or in pain, consult a doctor.

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This article was created by Yvonne Eve Walus for Kidspot, Australia's leading pregnancy and parenting resource. Sources include How to raise a healthy child… in spite of your doctor by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D.

Last revised: Wednesday, 21 April 2010

This article contains general information only and is not intended to replace advice from a qualified health professional.